Monday, 31 January 2011

Egypt trade mark office upholds ITIMAT opposition

While the world waits anxiously to hear the latest news from Egypt, Afro Leo can at least report some solid IP news from that land. The Egyptian Trade Mark Office (ETMO) has issued a decision concerning the ITIMAT trade mark. Sami Labib Rizk (Tower SMC Company), a local Egyptian business filed an application to register the word ITIMAT as a trade mark in Class 11. An opposition was filed by a Turkish company Itamat Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret Anonim Sirketi, which owned the same mark in the same class.

The ETMO, relying on the prior use and registration of the opponent, decided to allow the opposition since the registration of the word ITIMAT by the local company would confusion the public and lead to unfair competition -- quite apart from the fact that the word was part of the opponent's name.

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